Bolo knife

A bolo is a large cutting tool of Filipino origin similar to the machete, used particularly in the jungles of Indonesia, the Philippines, and in the sugar fields of Cuba. The primary use for the bolo is clearing vegetation, whether for agriculture or during trail blazing.

The bolo is called an iták or sundáng in Tagalog while in Hiligaynon, the blade is referred to as either a binangon or a talibong.

Contents 1 Historical significance 2 Design 2.1 Types 3 Other uses of the term 4 See also 5 Footnotes

Historical significance

Bolos are also used as military weapons and as such they were a particular favorite of the Filipino resistance during the 1898 Philippine Revolution against Spain, the Philippine-American War, and the Commonwealth period. Since the bolo was first used as a farming implement, it was used in combat because during colonial times the ubiquitous bolo was readily available to the common person. For this reason the study of the bolo is common in Filipino martial arts, such as Balintawak Eskrima, Pekiti-Tirsia Kali and Modern Arnis.

The failed assassination attempt by Carlito Dimahilig on Imelda Marcos on December 7, 1972 was done with a bolo. She still bears the scars on her arms.

Design

Bolos are characterized by having a native hardwood handle, a full tang, and by a blade that both curves and widens, often considerably so, at its tip. This moves the centre of gravity as far forward as possible, giving the knife extra momentum for chopping vegetation. So-called "jungle bolos", intended for combat rather than agricultural work, tend to be longer and less wide at the tip.

Types

Various types of bolos are employed. An assortment of bolos and related implements include:

1. The all-purpose bolo: Used for all sorts of odd jobs, including breaking open coconuts.
2. The haras: Similar to a small scythe, it is used for cutting tall grass.
3. The kutsilyo: The term comes from the Spanish word cuchillo, meaning knife. Generally used to kill and bleed pigs during slaughter.
4. A smaller bolo.
5. The bolo-guna: A bolo specifically shaped for digging out roots and weeding.
6. The garab: Used to harvest rice.
7. A large pinuti: Traditionally it is tipped in snake, spider or scorpion venom and used for self-defense.
8. The sundang: Supposedly used mainly to open coconuts. The sundang, also called "tip bolo" or itak, was a popular weapon of choice in the revolution against the Spanish colonial government and during the Philippine–American War.

Other uses of the term

In the U.S. military, the slang term "to bolo" – to fail a test, exam or evaluation, originated from the Philippine-American guerrilla forces during World War II; those guerrillas who failed to demonstrate proficiency in marksmanship were issued bolos instead of firearms so as not to waste scarce ammunition.^[1]

See also

• Cane knife
• Kukri

Footnotes

Knives and daggers List of daggers List of blade materials Types of knives Aircrew Survival Egress Knife Athame Butterfly Ballistic Bayonet Boline Bolo Boning Boot knife Bowie Bread knife Cane knife Cheese knife Chef's knife Cleaver Clip point Combat knife Commander Corvo CQC-6 Dagger Deba bocho Diving knife Drop point Electric knife Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife Gerber Mark II Ginsu Grapefruit knife Gravity knife Hunting dagger Hunting knife Jacob's ladder Karambit Kīla Kirpan Kitchen knife Kukri Laguiole knife Machete Mandau Mezzaluna Misericorde Mora knife Multi-tool Nakiri bocho Navaja Opinel knife Palette knife Pantographic knife Penknife Penny knife Pocket knife Putty knife Puukko Rampuri Rondel dagger Sabatier Sami knife Santoku SARK Scalpel Seax Sgian dubh Sharpfinger Shiv Sliding knife Smatchet SOG Knife Straight razor Strider SMF Survival knife Swiss Army knife Switchblade Taping knife Throwing knife Tomato knife Trench knife Tumi Ulu Utility knife X-Acto Yanagi ba Types of daggers Anelace Applegate-Fairbairn fighting knife BC-41 Bagh nakh Baselard Bichawa Billao Bollock dagger Cuchillo De Paracaidista Cinquedea Dirk Ear dagger Facón Hachiwara Hunting dagger Jambiya Kaiken Kalis Kard Katara Khanjar Kris Mark I trench knife Ocean Edge Knife Parrying dagger Poignard Push dagger Seme Shobo Sica Stiletto Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife Tantō Marine Raider Stiletto V-42 Stiletto Yoroi tōshi Knife manufacturers Aitor Al Mar Knives American Tomahawk Company Bear MCG Benchmade Böker Brusletto Buck Knives Calphalon Camillus Cutlery Company Cattaraugus Cutlery Company Chris Reeve Knives Cold Steel Columbia River Knife & Tool Cuisinart Cutco Cutlery DOVO Solingen Dexter-Russell Eikhorn Emerson Knives, Inc. Ek Commando Knife Co. F. Dick Fällkniven FAMAE Fiskars Füritechnics Gerber Legendary Blades Global Golok Hanwei Imperial Schrade J. A. Henckels KA-BAR Kershaw Knives KitchenAid Korin Japanese Trading Company Kyocera Leatherman Mad Dog Knives Microtech Knives Morseth Murphy knives Ontario Knife Company Opinel Pro-Tech Knives Rada Manufacturing Randall Made Knives Rigid Knives Rösle SOG Specialty Knives Sabatier Aîné & Perrier Spyderco Strider Knives Survival Aids TEKNA Thiers Issard Victorinox W. R. Case & Sons Cutlery Co. Walther arms Wenger Western Knife Company Wilkinson Sword Windlass Steelcrafts Wüsthof Knifemakers A.G. Russell American Bladesmith Society Rex Applegate James Black Blackie Collins Ernest Emerson Phill Hartsfield Bill Harsey, Jr. Gil Hibben Knifemakers' Guild Zanjan Knifemakers Bob Kramer Jimmy Lile Bob Loveless Bob Lum William F. Moran Ken Onion Ralph Osterhout Robert Parrish (knifemaker) Walter Doane "Bo" Randall, Jr. Chris Reeve Jody Samson William Scagel Robert Terzuola Michael Walker (knifemaker) Buster Warenski Daniel Winkler Book:Knives and daggers Category:Knives / Daggers